JP7629277B2 - Flooring and floor structure - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to flooring materials and floor structures.

There have been many reported cases of elderly people falling in their homes or facilities, breaking bones, and then ending up in hospital. This has led to a growing need for flooring materials that have excellent shock mitigation capabilities. In response to this, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose flooring materials that have been improved to enhance shock mitigation capabilities.

JP 2011-190673 A JP 2011-190674 A JP 2016-199994 A JP 2016-216928 A

The objective of the present invention is to provide flooring and floor structures that have excellent shock mitigation performance.

The flooring material disclosed herein comprises a first plate, a cushioning material laminated on the back side of the first plate, and a second plate laminated on the cushioning material on the opposite side of the first plate. The thickness of the second plate is 0.5 times or more and 5 times or less the thickness of the first plate.

The floor structure of the present disclosure also includes a first plate material, a cushioning material laminated on the underside of the first plate material, and a second plate material laminated on the underside of the cushioning material. The thickness of the second plate material is 0.5 times or more and 5 times or less than the thickness of the first plate material.

The flooring and floor structure disclosed herein provide excellent shock mitigation performance.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an example of a flooring material according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of another example of the flooring material of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an example of a floor structure according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of another example of a floor structure according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of yet another example of a floor structure according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a construction method for obtaining the floor structure of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a floor structure formed by the construction method of FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining another construction method for obtaining the floor structure of FIG.

The following describes the embodiment with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
1 shows an exemplary flooring 10 of the first embodiment. The flooring 10 comprises a first plate 11, a cushioning material 12 laminated on the back side of the first plate 11, and a second plate 13 laminated on the opposite side of the cushioning material 12 to the first plate 11. In other words, the cushioning material 12 is sandwiched between the first plate 11 and the second plate 13. This configuration allows the flooring 10 to exhibit excellent shock absorbing performance.

The thickness of the second plate material 13 is preferably 0.5 times or more, more preferably 0.8 times or more, and even more preferably 1 time or more, the thickness of the first plate material 11. The thickness of the second plate material 13 is preferably 5 times or less, more preferably 3 times or less, and even more preferably 2 times or less, the thickness of the first plate material 11. If the thicknesses of the first plate material 11 and the second plate material 13 satisfy these conditions, excellent shock mitigation performance can be more reliably achieved.

The thickness of the cushioning material 12 is preferably 0.5 times or more, and more preferably 1 time or more, the thickness of the first plate material 11. The thickness of the cushioning material 12 is preferably 3 times or less, and more preferably 2 times or less, the thickness of the first plate material 11. If these conditions are met, excellent shock mitigation performance can be more reliably achieved.

The flexural modulus of the first plate material 11 is preferably 500 MPa or more, more preferably 1000 MPa or more, and even more preferably 2000 MPa or more. The flexural modulus of the first plate material 11 is preferably 4000 MPa or less, more preferably 3500 MPa or more, and even more preferably 3000 MPa or less. From the viewpoint of avoiding the localized transmission of energy to the cushion material 12 and allowing the cushion material 12 to efficiently absorb energy and thereby obtain excellent shock mitigation performance, if these conditions are satisfied, excellent shock mitigation performance can be more reliably exhibited.

The flexural modulus is measured based on JIS K7171:2016 when the material constituting the first plate material 11 is resin, and is the flexural Young's modulus measured based on JIS Z2101:2009 when the material constituting the first plate material 11 is wood.

The thickness of the first plate material 11 is preferably 4.0 mm or more, more preferably 3.0 mm or more, and is preferably 15.0 mm or less, more preferably 7.0 mm or less. If these conditions are met, excellent shock mitigation performance can be more reliably achieved.

The compressive elastic modulus of the cushioning material 12 is preferably 1.0 MPa or more, and more preferably 1.5 MPa or more. The compressive elastic modulus of the cushioning material is preferably 2.5 MPa or less, and more preferably 2.3 MPa or less. If these conditions are met, excellent shock mitigation performance is more reliably achieved. This compressive elastic modulus was measured based on JIS K7181:2011, using a test specimen cut to 300 mm x 300 mm, and compressed with an indenter of 50 mm diameter at a test speed of 10 mm/min.

The cushion material 12 has a basis weight of, for example, 400 g/m ² or more and 800 g/m ² or less. The cushion material 12 has an apparent density of, for example, 0.030 g/cm ³ or more and 0.070 g/cm ³ or less.

From the viewpoint of obtaining excellent shock mitigation performance, the thickness of the cushioning material 12 is preferably 6.0 mm or more, more preferably 8 mm or more, and is preferably 20 mm or less, more preferably 15 mm or less.

The flexural modulus of the second plate material 13 is preferably 300 MPa or more, more preferably 1000 MPa or more, and even more preferably 3000 MPa or more. The flexural modulus of the second plate material 13 is preferably 10000 MPa or less, more preferably 6000 MPa or less, and even more preferably 4000 MPa or less. If these conditions are met, excellent shock mitigation performance can be more reliably achieved.

The bending stress of the second plate material 13 is preferably 0.5 N/ ^mm2 or more, more preferably 10 N/mm2 or ^more , and even more preferably 30 N/mm2 or ^more . The bending stress of the second plate material 13 is preferably 80 N/mm2 or ^less , more preferably 60 N/mm2 or ^less , and even more preferably 50 N/mm2 or ^less . If these conditions are satisfied, excellent shock mitigation performance is more reliably exhibited.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the surface hardness of the flooring material 10, measured in accordance with the floor hardness test of JIS standard A5917:2018, is 33 G or less. Such a flooring material will more reliably exhibit excellent shock mitigation performance.

(Examples of materials for each component)
Examples of materials constituting the first board material 11 include medium density fiberboard (hereinafter referred to as "MDF"), insulation board (soft fiberboard), hardboard (hard fiberboard), plywood, sorghum board, resin foam board, etc. The first board material 11 is preferably made of any one of these single materials or a composite of multiple materials, and from the viewpoint of obtaining excellent shock mitigation performance, it is preferable that the first board material 11 is made of one of these single materials including MDF.

The second plate material 13 can be made of the same material as the first plate material 11.

The materials constituting the cushioning material 12 include, for example, fiber structures such as nonwoven fabric, synthetic fiber felt, and natural fiber felt; and foam materials such as synthetic resin foam and rubber foam. The cushioning material 12 is preferably composed of any one of these single materials or a composite of multiple materials, and from the viewpoint of obtaining excellent shock mitigation performance, it is preferable that the cushioning material 12 is composed of one of these nonwoven fabrics, and more preferably that the cushioning material 12 is composed of a board-type nonwoven fabric.

Board-type nonwoven fabrics can be produced, for example, by spraying heated steam onto a staple fiber web of conjugate fibers formed from a first material with a high melting point, such as polyester, and a second material with a low melting point, such as an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, to fuse the second material together. The conjugate fibers may be of a sheath-core type having an inner layer of the first material and an outer layer of the second material, or of a side-by-side type in which the first material and the second material are bonded together. An example of a commercially available board-type nonwoven fabric is "Felibendy" (registered trademark) manufactured by Kuraray Kuraflex Co., Ltd.

The cushioning material 12 may be a laminate of multiple constituent materials, specifically, for example, a laminate of multiple sheets of nonwoven fabric. In this case, the means for joining the multiple constituent materials may be, for example, a chemical joining means using a hot melt adhesive, double-sided adhesive tape, adhesive sheet, liquid adhesive, etc.; or a mechanical joining means such as sewing together or tacking with a tacker. The multiple constituent materials may be joined only by chemical joining means, only by mechanical joining means, or by a combination of chemical and mechanical joining means. Also, the multiple constituent materials may be joined only at the edges or corners, with the center portion left unjoined.

Means for joining the first plate material 11 and the cushioning material 12 include, for example, chemical joining means using hot melt adhesive, double-sided tape, adhesive sheet, liquid adhesive, etc.; and mechanical joining means such as sewing by stitching and riveting by a tacker. From the viewpoint of obtaining excellent shock mitigation performance, it is preferable that the first plate material 11 and the cushioning material 12 are joined by adhesion using a chemical joining means, including the central portion. On the other hand, from the same viewpoint, it is preferable that the first plate material 11 and the cushioning material 12 are not joined by a mechanical joining means in the central portion. Also, the first plate material 11 and the cushioning material 12 may be joined only at the edges or corners, and the central portion may be left unjoined.

The above joining means can also be used as a joining means between the second plate material 13 and the cushioning material.

The surface hardness (hereinafter referred to as the "first G value") of the flooring material 10 of this embodiment measured according to the floor hardness test of JIS A5917:2018 is preferably 33 G or less, more preferably 30 G or less. The surface hardness (hereinafter referred to as the "second G value") of the flooring material 10 according to embodiment 1 measured according to the floor hardness test of JIS A6519:2013 is also preferably 33 G or less, more preferably 30 G or less. These first G value and second G value are the acceleration when a head model is allowed to freely fall on a measurement object and collides with it, and are taken as the surface hardness of the measurement object.

The smaller the difference between the first G value and the second G value of the flooring material 10 of this embodiment, the better, and it is preferably 10 G or less, more preferably 5 G or less, and even more preferably 3 G or less. The first G value is the average of the measurements from the third to fifth drop attempts out of five drop attempts, and the second G value is the average of all the measurements from the five drop attempts. Normally, repeated drop attempts reduce the impact mitigation performance, so the second G value is smaller than the first G value. Therefore, a small difference between the first G value and the second G value means that the impact mitigation performance is maintained even if drop attempts are repeated.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flooring material 10a may also be formed by further laminating a decorative material 14 on the surface side (the side opposite the cushioning material) of the first board material 11.

The materials constituting the decorative material 14 include, for example, resin tatami mats, Japanese paper tatami mats, natural rush tatami mats, resin sheets, synthetic fiber or natural fiber fabrics, flooring, carpets, rugs, etc. The decorative material 14 may have a cushioning material such as a resin foam sheet laminated on the back side. From the viewpoint of obtaining floor surface performance such as durability, the thickness of the decorative material 14 is preferably 0.5 mm or more, more preferably 0.5 mm or more, and is preferably 15.0 mm or less, more preferably 4.0 mm or less.

Second Embodiment
Next, a floor structure will be described as a second embodiment. Figures 3, 4 and 5 are diagrams showing an example of a floor structure according to this embodiment.

Figure 3 shows the structure of a slab-mounted floor. In other words, the flooring 10a with the decorative material 14 shown in Figure 2 is placed directly on the floor slab 20. In Figure 3, a laminate of a first plate 11, a cushion material 12 and a second plate 13 (similar structure to the flooring 10 in Figure 1) is arranged on the floor slab 20 in multiples (two are shown in the example of Figure 3), and the decorative material 14 is placed on top of them. The decorative material 14 is provided so as to expose a portion of the first plate 11 without covering it. The decorative material 14 may be provided separately after placing the flooring 10 (Figure 1) that does not include the decorative material.

Next, Figure 4 shows a double-floor structure. In other words, a floor panel 21 is provided on a floor slab 20 via joists 22 and supports 23, and floor material 10a is placed on the floor panel 21.

Figure 5 shows a floor structure using the joist and floor panel construction method. In other words, a floor panel 21 is installed on a floor slab 20 via a joist 22, and floor material 10a is placed on the floor panel 21.

The flooring material 10 and flooring material 10a described in the first embodiment can be used in a variety of floor structures, including the three examples above, and exhibit excellent shock mitigation performance.

In the above, it is assumed that at least the first plate material 11, the cushion material 12, and the second plate material 13 are joined together in advance to form the floor material 10, which is then placed on the floor slab 20 or the floor panel 21. However, the floor structure can also be constructed with each layer being separate. This is explained below.

Figure 6 is an example of a joist and floor panel construction method. In this case, a second plate 13a is placed on a floor slab 20, with joists 22 in between, instead of the floor panel 21 in Figure 5. A laminate is placed on top of this, in which a first plate 11 and cushion material 12 are layered and joined, and further comprising a decorative material 14. As a result, the floor structure shown in Figure 7 is formed, that is, a floor structure including the first plate 11, the cushion material 12 layered below it, and the second plate 13 layered below that. The decorative material 14 may or may not be provided.

As shown in FIG. 8, the decorative material 14, the first plate material 11, and the cushioning material 12 may also be laminated and joined separately onto the second plate material 13a. In this case, the floor structure shown in FIG. 7 is also formed. In addition, various methods can be used by laminating and joining any number of layers in advance. Furthermore, it is also possible to form the floor structure shown in FIG. 7 by placing the floor material 10a of FIG. 2 on the floor slab 20 via the joists 22.

(Flooring)
Flooring materials were produced in the following Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3. The configurations of each are also shown in Table 1.

Example 1
As the first plate material, MDF having a thickness of 6.4 mm (flexural strength: 30.5 MPa, flexural modulus: 2880 MPa) was prepared.

As a cushioning material, three sheets of board-type nonwoven fabric (manufactured by Kuraray Kuraflex, product name: Felivendy) were laminated together with a hot melt adhesive to create a nonwoven fabric laminate with a thickness of 12.0 mm. The board-type nonwoven fabric used was manufactured by spraying heated steam onto a staple fiber web of conjugate fiber having an inner layer of polyester and an outer layer of ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer. The nonwoven fabric laminate had a compressive elastic modulus of 1.66 MPa and an apparent density of 0.050 g/ ^cm3 .

As the second plate material, MDF having a thickness of 5.5 mm (bending stress: 35 N/mm ² , bending modulus: 2944 MPa) was prepared.

The first plate material 11, the cushioning material, and the second plate material were laminated by bonding them together using a hot melt adhesive.

In this manner, the flooring material of Example 1 was produced.

Example 2
As the second board material, a 4.0 mm thick MDF (bending stress 37 N/mm ² , bending modulus 3063 MPa) was prepared. The first board material, the cushion material, and the lamination method of each layer were the same as in Example 1, and a floor material of Example 2 was produced.

Example 3
As the second plate material, a plywood having a thickness of 9.0 mm (bending stress: 11 N/mm ² , bending modulus: 538 MPa) was prepared. The first plate material, the cushion material, and the lamination method of each layer were the same as in Example 1, and the floor material of Example 3 was produced.

Example 4
The first board material, the cushion material, and the second board material were prepared in the same manner as in Example 3. Furthermore, as a decorative material, a tatami facing (basis weight: 838 g/m ² , apparent density: 0.419 g/cm ³ ) made of resin imitation rush and having a thickness of 2.0 mm was prepared.

The first plate 11, the cushioning material, and the second plate were laminated by bonding them together using a hot melt adhesive. In addition, a decorative material was laminated onto the front side of the first plate 11 without bonding, and the corners were joined with a tacker to produce the flooring material of Example 4.

Example 5
A carpet (thickness 6.0 mm, manufactured by Toli Industries, Inc.) was prepared as a decorative material. Except for that, the flooring material of Example 5 was produced in the same manner as in Example 4.

<Comparative Example 1>
A first plate material and a cushion material were prepared similar to those in Examples 1 and 3. A cushion material was laminated by adhering it to the back side of the first plate material using a hot melt adhesive. In this way, a floor material of Comparative Example 1 was produced. Therefore, the floor material of Comparative Example 1 has a configuration similar to that of the floor material of Examples 1 or 3, except that the second plate material is omitted.

<Comparative Example 2>
The same first plate and cushioning material as those in Comparative Example 1 were prepared. Also, the same decorative material (tatami surface) as that in Example 4 was prepared. The cushioning material was laminated by bonding to the back side of the first plate using a hot melt adhesive. Furthermore, the decorative material was laminated to the front side of the first plate 11 without bonding, and the corners were joined with a tacker to produce the flooring material of Comparative Example 2. The flooring material of Comparative Example 2 has a configuration in which the second plate is removed from the flooring material of Example 4.

<Comparative Example 3>
A carpet similar to that in Example 5 was prepared as a decorative material. Otherwise, a flooring material in Comparative Example 3 was produced in the same manner as in Comparative Example 2. The flooring material in Comparative Example 3 has a configuration similar to that of the flooring material in Example 5, except that the second board material is omitted.

(Test evaluation results)
Table 1 shows the first G value and the second G value (measured in accordance with JIS A5917:2018 and JIS A6519:2013, respectively, as described above) for Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3. In all of the Examples, the two G values were the same. Also, in the Comparative Examples, the first G value was either 1 larger or the same.

The smaller the G value, the better the shock mitigation performance. The G values of Comparative Examples 1 to 3 are around 34 to 36, whereas in the Examples, the maximum is 31 in Examples 1 and 2, and is even smaller at 24, 28, and 27 in Examples 3 to 5, respectively, all of which are below 30.

The flooring materials of Examples 3 to 5 are constructed by adding a second plate to the flooring materials of Comparative Examples 1 to 3, respectively. The G value is significantly smaller in each case, and the impact mitigation performance is improved by sandwiching the cushioning material between the first and second plate materials. Furthermore, when comparing Example 3 with Examples 4 and 5, the G value is larger when a decorative material is provided. Therefore, simply increasing the number of layers does not necessarily improve impact mitigation performance, and a configuration in which the cushioning material is sandwiched between plate materials is desirable.

The flooring and floor structure disclosed herein have excellent shock mitigation properties and are therefore useful for constructing floors in homes and various facilities where people spend time.

10, 10a Floor material 11 First board material 12 Cushion material 13, 13a Second board material 14 Decorative material 20 Floor slab 21 Floor panel 22 Joist 23 Support

Claims (9)

A first plate material;
A cushioning material laminated on the back surface side of the first plate material;
a second plate material laminated on the cushion material on the opposite side to the first plate material,
The thickness of the second plate is 0.5 to 5 times the thickness of the first plate,
A flooring material characterized in that the flexural modulus of the second board material is 300 MPa or more and 10,000 MPa or less. A first plate material;
A cushioning material laminated on the back surface side of the first plate material;
a second plate material laminated on the cushion material on the opposite side to the first plate material,
The thickness of the second plate is 0.5 to 5 times the thickness of the first plate,
A flooring material characterized in that the bending stress of the second plate material is 0.5 N/ ^mm2 or more and 80 N/mm2 or ^less . In claim 1 or 2,
A flooring material, characterized in that the thickness of the cushion material is 0.5 to 3 times the thickness of the first board material. In claim 1 or 2,
The bending elastic modulus of the first plate material is 500 MPa or more and 4000 MPa or less,
The cushioning material has a compressive elastic modulus of 1.0 MPa or more and 2.5 MPa or less. In any one of claims 1 to 4,
The surface hardness measured according to JIS A5917:2018 floor hardness test is 33G.
A flooring material characterized in that: A first plate material;
a cushioning material laminated on the underside of the first plate material;
a second plate material laminated under the cushion material,
The thickness of the second plate is 0.5 to 5 times the thickness of the first plate,
A floor structure characterized in that the bending elastic modulus of the second plate material is 300 MPa or more and 10,000 MPa or less. A first plate material;
a cushioning material laminated on the underside of the first plate material;
a second plate material laminated under the cushion material,
The thickness of the second plate is 0.5 to 5 times the thickness of the first plate,
A floor structure, characterized in that the bending stress of the second plate material is 0.5 N/ ^mm2 or more and 80 N/mm2 or ^less . In claim 7 ,
A floor structure, characterized in that the thickness of the cushion material is 0.5 to 3 times the thickness of the first plate material. In claim 7 or 8,
The bending elastic modulus of the first plate material is 500 MPa or more and 4000 MPa or less,
A floor structure characterized in that the compressive elastic modulus of the cushioning material is 1.0 MPa or more and 2.5 MPa or less.

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